$110 a night in February! Anyone changing plans?

[Disney John]

I called central reservations today and was told that only premium sites are available for presidents week (Feb 14th) of 2010 and the rate is $110 a night.

We have stayed at the fort every Presidents week for 10 years, but with the new premium classification taking up all of the sites , and the much higher rates, I find myself saying "NO WAY" for the first time. I only have a 28' class C and $110 seems very unreasonable to me for my MH. Especially since you can get a Disney hotel room for $120 a night for the same week.

Am I the only one that has a problem with most of the sites now being premium classification? What about the rates?

Any suggestions for a nice, cheaper campgrounds in the area ?

 

[LONE-STAR]

I called central reservations today and was told that only premium sites are available for presidents week (Feb 14th) of 2010 and the rate is $110 a night.

We have stayed at the fort every Presidents week for 10 years, but with the new premium classification taking up all of the sites , and the much higher rates, I find myself saying "NO WAY" for the first time. I only have a 28' class C and $110 seems very unreasonable to me for my MH. Especially since you can get a Disney hotel room for $120 a night for the same week.

Am I the only one that has a problem with most of the sites now being premium classification? What about the rates?

Any suggestions for a nice, cheaper campgrounds in the area ?

I like the sites but not sure I would pay $110 a night. We will being staying in the premium for $65 a night which I can live with but its not that week. $110 a night should come with free dinning. But I would prefer to pay 65.

 

[bama_ed]

I called central reservations today and was told that only premium sites are available for presidents week (Feb 14th) of 2010 and the rate is $110 a night.

We have stayed at the fort every Presidents week for 10 years, but with the new premium classification taking up all of the sites , and the much higher rates, I find myself saying "NO WAY" for the first time. I only have a 28' class C and $110 seems very unreasonable to me for my MH. Especially since you can get a Disney hotel room for $120 a night for the same week.

Am I the only one that has a problem with most of the sites now being premium classification? What about the rates?

Any suggestions for a nice, cheaper campgrounds in the area ?

DisneyJohn,

Unfortunately, anything from early February up through late April is in a high cost time period (Peak/Spring/Holiday) so it is what it is. Keep trying on different levels of sites (Full or Preferred). Maybe Tropical Palms in Kissimmee still has vacancies.

Bama ED

 

[DaveInTN]

I wonder is they will fill up for those prime weeks at that rate? If so, the decision to "premium-ize" all those sites might be justified for them. But if they have trouble selling those sites during spring break it will speak volumes.

 

[KPSmithSr]

I guess it will be a test of the old supply - demand curve. The only way prices will stabilize (or dare say, come down) is if they do not sell enough sites.

 

[Tri-circle-D]

Disney John- The TCD gang also normally camps on President's Day weekend. MLK weekend, too. I love to camp at the Fort in January and February.

But, for 2010, I have not made reservations for either weekend.

I recently did a little thinking and calculating about what I have been spending at the Fort.

With the new sites added to the 600 loop, by my calculation, there are now 799 campsites at FW.

If anyone wants to check my math, here is what I came up with:

Partial hook-up Campsites -total sites 90

1500- 21 sites
2000- 69 sites

Full hook-up Campsites- total sites 156

1600- 45 sites
1700- 41 sites
1800- 32 sites
1900- 38 sites


Preferred Campsites- total sites 123

100- 25 sites
200- 37 sites
300- 61 sites

Premium Campsites- total sites 430

400- 33 sites
500- 56 sites
600- 37 sites
700- 34 sites
800- 74 sites
900- 32 sites
1000- 23 sites
1100- 24 sites
1200- 22 sites
1300- 34 sites
1400- 61 sites

So, that means the breakdown is as follows:

11% of the sites at FW are Partial hook-up
20% of the sites at FW are Full hook-up
15% of the sites at FW are Preferred; and
54% of the sites are Premium

So, during busy times, you may not have a choice to rent anything other than a Premium site.

I will not pay $110 a night to camp. I like to camp in February, but not that much. And, while the weather can be pretty nice then, it can also be very miserable on occasion. It is not worth taking the risk at those prices.

With the occupancy of the Fort at historic low levels, I am confident that discounts will be offered. If I can snag a discount, I will camp. If I can't get a discount, then no camping for me.

Maybe FW will fill up for Presidents' Day Weekend at rack rates. But I highly doubt it.

The FW management has shot itself in the foot big time. There is no logic to making 54% of the sites in the highest price bracket. It is pure, dumb, stupid greed. Period.


This will all eventually work itself out by the law of supply and demand. There have been a lot more empty sites at the Fort than I have ever seen over the past ten years, and I expect this trend to continue. Eventually, the Fort management will have to "get real." But, it is going to be a painful process that we will all have to go through.

I feel sorry for the Fort employees and their families who will have to suffer reduced income, and possibly even the loss of employment, because of the unmitigated greed of the stupid managers.

Life is about changes. I have really enjoyed the time I have been able to spend at the Fort. But, if these ding-dongs make the experience too expensive and unenjoyable, I will find something else to do. The world is a big place, KWIM?

TCD

 

[VAN]

Yes, my DH and I are down to the two of us and last year I made the decision to cancel my Ft. Wilderness reservation and go with a Value resort. Also, airfare from Michigan (where I'm from) is way down as well. WDW has been offering some fantastic deals (4/3 deal, free dining, 40% off room-only codes) and it has been way cheaper to just fly down, rent a car (or not) and stay at a value resort.

My heart still belongs to the Fort, but economically and time-wise (for the drive) it just doesn't make sense for us to drive and camp.

So, yes, I've also struggled with the prices of the campsites and the cost of driving ... flying/hotel is what we are currently doing.

 

[k4dcf]

Wow after seeing that rate I am glad we are going to be there prior to those dates. I am booked for Jan 23rd to Feb 1st for $65.00 per nite. It will be second annual trip to the Fort to celebrate our wedding anniversary (29 yrs). We have a 34' class A that would fit in a preferred site but went with premium to get rid of the sand pad and have more room for the four fur kids that travel with us. We are shooting for the 900 loop this year.

 

[mamaloya]

I don't understand why they converted so many of them so quickly to premium without doing a test run of just a few loops. Disney usually test markets stuff first. Before they implemented EMH, they did a test run and got feed back. I do believe they did a test of the dining plan as well before putting it in full swing. (could be wrong on that one)

They should have just converted 4 loops to supply those big rigs that NEED the space and were complaining about it. If those were continuously booked, THEN convert more. I guess they figured with all the complaining about tight sites that they would be popular. Not sure why they didn't test it first. Maybe they figured as long as they were already there... what they hey.

I do agree that the prices will come down at some point. They are already offering more discounts than usual. In the past, I was never able to get a AAA discount. Now, the trip that I had to cancel and my trip for May I was able to. I see more discounts in the future.

I think FW just got too cocky. They were used to being so full and not having to offer any discounts or deals to keep it that way. They figured, "hey, we can up the price". Well, they final reached the limit. Every year people grumbled about the price increase, but still paid it and went. People are finally putting their foot down.

We'll see how long it takes them to respond.

 

[seabee]

$110 is nuts! Really what do they need to do for a camper. Pick up trash, maybe some maintanance here and there on the hook ups. YOU do the rest. You clean your camper-not housekeeping. You cook for yourself(sometimes). Like someone said...You can stay at a hotel(where they do everything for you) for $120. I haven't takin any management classes, but wouldn't it make sense to charge a reasonable price and FILL the place, rather then charge astronomical prices and only be 1/2 full. In the end you would make more money with every site filled. Gees!

 

[auntie]

Unless (as I believe I've seen Jim mention a couple of times)...the idea is to ultimately make it so that the Fort is not profitable..and use that land for a DVC resort.
They do seem to keep building those anywhere and everywhere they can.
I'd hate to think that might be the case...but it certainly doesn't make sense to raise the rates the way they have in this economy. Who knows?

While I do understand making the campground friendlier for the big rigs..and that the sites had pretty much remained unchanged since the campround was built, management (or whoever makes these decisions) seem to miss the point that people are CAMPING. As much as one may enjoy camping..no camper wants to pay more for a campsite than they would for a resort hotel room. Especially given that they exclude the campsites from the promotions that the value resorts are included in. If they're gonna be charging $110.00 a night for a campsite..then they should be offering some of the same benefits that the resort guests receive. Certainly maintance to a campsite..isn't anything compared to that of a resort room.

I guess only time will tell. I will be very curious to see if the campground is at full capacity during that February time period, or if they start to offer discounts to fill those sites.

 

[AuburnJen92]

I will be going to a state park and taking my money to Cape Canaveral that weekend. Manatee Hammock has a 27 dollar a night rate and I feel the need to go see space stuff. I cannot justify that rate to go to the Fort. I agree with TCD, it will be a long process to get the management to understand that this was an ill decision, but we will all have to live through it. I however, will not leave my RV in the driveway just because I can't go to FW either.

It is a shame really. We love going, but we got into RV'ing to be able to go more often. When the peak rates kick in, it is really hard to think about going to FW.

 

[auntie]

Isn't Disney running a discounted room rate in February? Got an e-mail about that yesterday..Didn't check to see if it included the Presidents week..probably not.
I wonder..does anyone who has anything to do with managing Fort Wilderness actually ever camp?...Gotta wonder, huh?

 

[Disney John]

There is a Disney visa promo that ends on 2/11/10. 40% off. The cast member that I spoke with said that no discounts are available for Presidents week. I asked about all of them. Disney Visa, Passholder, AAA etc..... I have em all !!!

I'm kinda sad. This will be the first time in almost 10 years that I'm not going to be there for that week. That is unless some discounts become available. I refuse to pay $110 a night for Presidents week.

 

[manning]

$110 is nuts! Really what do they need to do for a camper. Pick up trash, maybe some maintanance here and there on the hook ups. YOU do the rest. You clean your camper-not housekeeping. You cook for yourself(sometimes). Like someone said...You can stay at a hotel(where they do everything for you) for $120. I haven't takin any management classes, but wouldn't it make sense to charge a reasonable price and FILL the place, rather then charge astronomical prices and only be 1/2 full. In the end you would make more money with every site filled. Gees!

Shame on you!!! You're being logical.